DURANT, OKLA. – The East Central University baseball team dropped a doubleheader to Southeastern Oklahoma State in the final games of the 2016 regular season.  The Tigers (16-28, 15-18 GAC) fell 10-11 in the opening game and then 3-7 in the finale.

ECU was led junior JT Stevenson, who hit .429 with three hits, two runs and an RBI.  Junior Jake MeKeel added a .429 average, three hits, five runs and two RBIs.

The Tigers will now have to wait until the rest of the final games in the Great American Conference are completed Monday, May 2 to determine what seed and where they will go for the first round of the 2016 GAC Championship Tournament.

Southeastern 11, East Central 10
ECU opened the scoring right away in the top of the first inning, getting a run on a solo home run to left field from MeKeel.

The Tigers added two more runs in the second inning.  Junior Jacob Cowling was sent to first on a hit by pitch and then sophomore Austin LoBue added the runs with a home run to left center.

The home run derby continued in the third, with a second home run by MeKeel for a 4-0 score.  That marked the first time since March 15, 2015 that a Tiger had hit two home runs in the same game.

The Savage Storm (27-22, 21-12 GAC) got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run of their own for a 4-1 ECU advantage.

ECU added a run in the fourth on a double from Stevenson and a single from junior Trevor Huie for a 5-1 score.

The Tigers kept their scoring run going in the fifth, adding two runs for a 7-1 advantage.  Senior Kris Molter started the inning by drawing a walk and was sent to third on a single to right by MeKeel.  After an out, junior Trey Mound was walked, but ball four was a wild pitch that allowed Molter to score.  Cowling loaded the bases with a walk and LoBue earned an RBI with a walk.

Southeastern then started to make a come-back, scoring a run in the fifth and sixth and adding two in the seventh for a 7-5 score.

ECU responded with three runs in the eighth inning.  Junior Kodiak O'Ravez started things with a single and was sent home on the fourth home run of the game for the Tigers by Molter.  MeKeel kept the inning going with a walk and was sent to second on a wild pitch.  After an out Stevenson sent a run home when he reached on an error.

However, the Savage Storm didn't go away quietly and rallied to score six runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn the 10-11 win.

Southeastern 7, East Central 3
The final game of the series was in favor of Southeastern from the start to finish, as they took an early 0-1 advantage in the first inning.

The Savage Storm added a run in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth for a 0-5 advantage.

The Tigers got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, with a single run.  Stevenson drew a lead-off walk and junior Kristian De La Toree sent Stevenson to third with a single to right.  That allowed Stevenson to score on a wild pitch.
However, Southeastern countered with a run in the bottom of the inning to a 1-6 advantage.

ECU came out ready to fight in the sixth, with O'Ravez hitting a solo home run as the first batter.  After an out MeKeel was hit by a pitch and sent to third on a double by Mound.  Stevenson then added a single to left to score a second run for a 3-6 disadvantage.

The Savage Storm continued to score, getting a run in the sixth for the 3-7 final.